Warning!

A section of metro Line 8 from Mar de Cristal to Columbia (the section close to Barajas Airport) is closing from June 3 2006 until September. This will GREATLY affect (actually, it will stop) metro travel from Barajas Airport to downtown Madrid.

Also, a section of metro Line 3 from end-line Legazpi to Moncloa will be closed for the same period of time for renovations. This line includes the station at PUERTA DEL SOL, CALLAO, and MONCLOA to name a few.

Read the article about this (in Spanish) including more details @ http://www.elmundo.es/elmundo/2006/05/22/madrid/1148289595.html

Saludos, MadridMan

According to the website you linked, it looks like we can catch a free bus between Mar de Cristal and Columbia and then get back on the metro. Is this your take?

Yup. I heard that too. Hope it's not raining, you're not waiting long for that bus, and you don't have much luggage. Plus there's the going up and down metro station stairs with that luggage, stowing your luggage on the bus, getting off the bus, getting your luggage, going back down the stairs to the next metro station, etcetera. If it was me I'd just take a taxi and save my Madrid-summer-sweat for other activities.

Saludos, MadridMan

How about metro all the way by going Barajas to Mar de Cristal then catch line 4 to say...Avda.de Americas and then continue...to wherever Madrid centro Sol etc?

for those that are interested areocity runs an airport shuttle, if your not in a hurry it can be as cheap as 16 euros 27 for an express run.

You still can take the cheap route.

Take bus 200 from Avenida de América to get to Barajas, but to get to the new T-4 terminal, take bus 204.

It's as simple as that.

Shawn

SRedw

How would you get from the airport to the center of town? same bus lines?

thanks.

Same bus lines as what? Other than a shuttle service, getting a taxi is the best option in my opinion.

Saludos, MadridMan

I hear storys about getting ripped off. I'm a woman traveling by myself. I'd prefer not to use Taxis. SRedw was saying there was direct bus lines to get to the airport. Take bus 200 from Avenida de América to get to Barajas, but to get to the new T-4 terminal, take bus 204.

I was wondering if these same buses made a return trip as well. If I could take them to the city center from the Airport.

thank you!

Sure! They go in both directions. Line 200 operates from 5:30a to 11:30p, and line 204 from 6a to 11:30p.

This is teh Website of the Madrid Metropolitan Bus company: http://www.emtmadrid.es/services/index.html (English version)

Great. thank you. You're nice.

I saw a note on the bus website that said Luggage is only permitted on the bus as long as it is no bigger than carry on luggage. DO you think they enforce that?

Ok, I am confused. I am still not sure why we are giving up on the Metro. Per my last post...
"How about metro all the way by going Barajas to Mar de Cristal then catch line 4 to say...Avda.de Americas and then continue...to wherever Madrid centro Sol etc?"

Is this not feasable, easy, cheap?

If you are flying into the new terminal T4, the best way to get into the city is on the 204 bus to the Avenida de America metro stop or a cab. This is faster than taking a shuttle bus to the old terminal and getting on the metro, transferring, etc. I've never had a problem with luggage on the buses. They have never been crowded when I have taken them.

There is only one stop on the way to Avenida de America--Canillejas--you can get off there to get on the 5 line, but you will have to walk over an overpass to get to the metro stop. It's easier to use Canillejas coming from Madrid and going to Barajas.

No, they don't, unless the bus is crowded. This rule really applies to all the other lines in the Madrid bus system, but in the case of the airport lines, the drivers are much more understanding.

Of course, you can do, and it is the cheapest way. But it involves a couple of line transfers. All the new stations in Madrid (and many of the old ones that are being refurbished) have elevators that will help you out with the luggage when transferring. Aeropuerto and Mar de Cristal are two of those, Avenida de America isn't, just escalators. For many people, pulling a big suitcase can be a hassle. It is a matter of personal choice.

The replies are much appreciated. I will take the bus.

re: giving up on the metro. yes. I won't want to use the metro because I really don't want to change lines a million times and haul my luggage up and down 50 million escalators. So yes. I've never even been there and I'm giving up on the metro as a means of transport from the airport. The bus sounds like much less of a hassle.

This thread is a good warning. The attraction of having a direct and inexpensive Metro option to and from the airport will disappear until September. Unless you are going or coming from Mar de Cristal, you will need to transfer at least once, if not twice, or even three times to get to your final destination. Add on the wait times (imagine just missing your connection two times in a row!), and the hassle of transiting the different stations (long walks, up and down stairs, etc.) Take the less convenient and more expensive 200 and 204 buses. I can't believe the city decided to do this work at the height of the summer travel season! I'm afraid gone are the days when I could get from my home to the departure gate in a little over half an hour.

I took the metro from sol line 2 to principe de vegera then line 9 to columbia and then onto line 8aeropuerto this was june 2 and there were no problems . I think there is work at station on line 3. this took a half hour
tickets are 6.15 euro for 10 rides good deal.

I need to get to Hostal Acapulco on c/ Salud 13, near plaza del Carmen, on tuesday so I figured I would take the 204 to Av. de America, then line 4 to Alonso Martinez & from there line 5 to Gran Via.
Does that seem ok? Is there a transfer from the 204 to the metro or is it a different system?
Btw, we have only a small bag each (carry on)

Hola everyone, As a reply to breibach, and an update...yes your idea of switching trains at Mar de Cristal to or from line 4 is a good option and is a convenient way to get into the city since if you came by bus (which is an ok option too) you probably would still have to get on the metro at Av. America to get to your hotel anyway.
I just took the bus they have between M on Wednesday June 7th and it was very easy and well marked (look for the busses with the letters "SE" , they come quite often, for me there was no line going from Colombia out but there was a line at Mar de Cristal, but with two busses coming at once sometimes its pretty quick. The trip itself is not fast as the metro of course but ok if you need to go that direction. I would opt to just transfer at Mar de Cristal to the Metro line 4 to go into the city.
J.

Personally when every I fly I take Areocity shuttle, with a dog, baggage backpack taking the metro just isn't an option. At 16 eruros (upt to 2 people) its a good deal.

Be aware of more closures coming soon this summer. Check out the map here .

For those who don't read Spanish, in a nutshell.

Half of line 7 (Avenida de América - Las Musas) will close down starting June 24, with free bus service which goes along that route. In September, for the entire month, ALL of line 7 will shut down. The purpose is to change the electrical general, which, I think, is old.

Palooka,

Those buses take you back to Avenida de América and from there, you have lines 4,6,7 and 9.

It's not bad, considering you won't get ripped off, probably, by a taxi driver and you pay a small fee.

Shawn

I arrived in Madrid on June 13. Took the Metro from Barajas to city center and had no problems. Did have to change at Mar de Cristal. Total cost .61 euros. What a great deal.

breibach, 0.61 Euros??? Could you elaborate please? I thought a one-pass metro ticket was ONE Euro.

Aaahhh.. Wait. NOW I get it. 0.61 Euros is ONE-TENTH the cost of a 10-trip METROBUS pass (6.15 Euros).

What was your total travel-time, briebach?

Saludos, MadridMan

I just found out that Pepecar is closing (temporarily?) closing their rental desk in Barajas (near the airport). All the reservations have been transfered to the Arturo Soria ofc. So can I still take the Metro to Mar de Cristal then change to Line 4 over to Arturo Soria? About how long would this take. We're a family of four about 3 suitcases plus carry-ons. If this is too much hassle, am also considering booking Aerocity for an express trip. What's recommended here?

Regarding my trip from the airport to Madrid the trip took about 50-60 minutes total. That was about 10 minute walk through the airport to metro station, perhaps 5 minute wait at the station, then 10 minutes to Mar de Cristal, perhaps another 6 minute walk to change lines, then a 20 minute ride to Diego de Leon, another switch of about 5 minutes, then a final ride of about 3 minutes to our destination at Nunez de Balboa. There were some places where the escalator did not work and we had to use stairs. This can be difficult with alot of luggage but we managed.

I'm with MM's previous post: take a cab! They're plentiful, to my travel mind not that expensive (about 18-20 euros, depending upon your desination) and each and every time I've done it had a lovely conversation with the driver. For me, it's always been worth a few extra euros to jump-start my spanish and not have to deal with dragging luggage up, down and everywhere. Perhaps I've never felt ripped off because I know the city and I speak the language, but I know of other first-time visitors who ended up with similar fares and positive experiences. But however you get to where you're going, ENJOY the lovely Spain that awaits you!

I would do the Metro thing.

First, because the summer closures of Metro don't affect you at all (just take line 8 from Aeropuerto to Mar de Cristal, change to line 4 until Arturo Soria, 6 stations total).

Second, because a taxi driver could get angry to drive you such a short distance. I know, he shouldn't care about the customer's destination, simply put the taximeter on and drive. But the fact is that they wait for long in the airport queues and, thus, expect to do a long drive that pays for the time they were waiting. So, if he discovers (and has no choice) that the route is short, in many cases the situation could be embarrassing.

As you are a family of four, what about two of you going to Pepecar by Metro while the other two keep the luggage in one of the Airport cafeterias while wait to be picked up?

I think we will probably do the metro thing. What's the best online place to figure out how to get from the Arturo Soria ofc back to M40 (once I'm there I can find the way....) My other 2 family members are kids so we're not spliting them up.

The two route planners I use are:

- El callejero de Paginas Amarillas
- Via Michelin

Both have English versions and have city maps and can set a point-to-point route in the same city or even different origin and destination cities.

And about splitting the group, I meant Mom and Kid#1 go to Pepecar, while Dad and Kid#2 wait at the airport, or viceversa. But, of course, you know better than me your family 'logistics'. The Pepecar location is a 10-minutes-drive away from the airport (considering the driver knows the way). The airport has a very easy exit to either direction of M40, so it wouldn't be a big detour.

Too funny. We always joke that I *am* my husband's GPS. For 2 years now we had this brilliant idea that he would leave me and the kids with the luggage at the airport then he would drop the car at the Pepecar ofc. Both times he got lost. And that was a 3 min drive! Anyway, thanks for your help. I think I'll get driving directions from Arturo Soria back to M40, then I'm good to go. He drives, I watch the road signs. :-) We'll take the metro there, it'll be a cool experience for the kids (ages 10 and 15) they've never been on the metro.

Just a follow up to this whole mess.... we've decided that since we now have to take the metro into the city, we'll just go a little further on it. We're going to take it all the way to Conde de Casal and take Auto-Res. We canceled the Pepecar reservation. We haven't been public transporation people in about 13 years, so we'll see how this goes!

Just a brief update on line 8, it is being re-opened on 1st September according to signs on the metro today.

Hurray!!! :jump: Now when the line 3 SOL-MONCLOA line reopens I'll be a REALLY happy person.

Saludos, MadridMan

Line #3 will open again next friday, September 22nd.

Just saw on TeleMadrid that tomorrow/Saturday the line 3 (SOL) will open as well as the new access point UNDER El Corte Inglés on Calle Preciados. From the video I just saw it looks super cool, super big, and totally brand new. Should be nice and I can't wait to try it out. FINALLY!!

Saludos, MadridMan

I haven't been downtown for a while so when I stop by the other day it was a bit of a shock to see that Metro Sol is finished and open!!!!!! Not only that most of the street has been opened back up again :)I expect next time I go downtown 90% of the street work should be finished. Charmtin is almost finished as well. I noticed signs that line 7 is also finished.